SUMMARY 



Research has clearly indicated that antibiotics will control certain 

 major plant diseases and in some cases eradicate infection of treated 

 plants. These complex organic chemicals, which inhibit or destroy the 

 growth of disease-causing organisnns, have made phenomenal contribu- 

 tions to the fields of hunnan nnedicine and animal nutrition. 



Now pathologists have successfully directed the action of antibiotics 

 against certain plant diseases. The success of antibiotics in this field is 

 credited to their ability to enter into the plant where they protect against 

 invasion of the disease-causing organism and stop the grov.lh of organisms 

 already in the plant, rather than serving simply as a surface protectant. 



Commercial formulations of some antibiotics are available to vegetable 

 growers, but they have not come into wide use. This report discusses 

 these antibiotics, recently developed ones which show promise, and the 

 specific diseases which each has controlled. 



Information in this report was provided by the Horticultural Crops Research 



Branch, Agricultural Research Service 



